Where I stand.

I get asked what about Taiwan in reference to Ukraine. If we let Russia have Ukraine then surely I support China taking Taiwan.

This is a simplistic argument.

I believe power should lie with each individual to live their life without interference from government. This can become a circular argument about democracy and the rights of the mob over the individual so I will avoid that for now.

The west promotes the idea of democracy so I will focus on this and keep it short.

The west backed democratic elections in South Sudan, Kosovo, East Timor and supported their independence. They allowed the right of the Scottish to vote. So why not the Donbass and Luhansk and Crimea? Also why not Catalonia or West Papua?

If democracy is good for some why not all?

So this is the problem, the west only supports what it can gain from. The rules in the rules based system are the west's rules and they are bendable and malleable to its wishes so really there are no rules.

If the west accepted the elections in luhansk and donbass and then accepted the results there would be no war and this acceptance and willingness to accept the will of the people would be seen as an example of how to attain a peaceful outcome from a potentially messy situation.

So if democracy had been allowed then Russia and Europe could have happily existed with each growing richer. Instead the west got the war they wanted. So what does China see and feel? Instead of the world looking on with the expectation of a peaceful solution and any attack on Taiwan becoming a diplomatic disaster we now have China looking at Taiwan as a base for attacks on the mainland just as Russia sees Ukraine.

The west is busy arming Taiwan to make this threat real. The end result I fear will be the same.

So about independence of areas. New zealand is a collection of islands there is a small one 1000km off our coast called the chatham islands and I often think what if they wanted independence. The solution to this problem is fairness if people see or suspect they are being unfairly treated then they lose trust and connection..

So to avoid the people of the chathams leaving and taking a large area of our EEZ fishing area we need to treat the people on this little distant island the same as the mainland. Same services and taxes even if the cost per person is high because that shows we care. It is only by being fair to all people that we can achieve peace. This lack of fairness is the first thing highlighted by anyone seeking to create disruption.

I think I'm being a bit niave and simplistic but that's who I am.

Cheers

#mythoughts